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Feb 29, 2012

So I bought OPI DS Temptation a few weeks ago (before my self-imposed ban). I didn't realize what it was until I got home and opened the bottle. I regretted this purchase as soon as I saw the swatch I made on paper. Stupid me for not searching the polish before purchasing it (or so I thought). I was disappointed with the sheerness of the base color. I didn't want to apply a million coats to get full coverage. But I decided to give it a chance before shunning it to the back of a drawer. I started by applying 2 coats of China Glaze's Liquid Leather as a base. Liquid Leather is a simple leathery black. 2 generous coats should usually be enough for full coverage. Then I applied 2 coats of Temptation. Temptation is a sheer purple base with a megaton of purple and blue glitter in different sizes. I think it also has small silver and pinkish glitter. Application was good. You can imagine that this dries very textured because of the amount of glitter in it. So I applied a generous amount of Seche Vite topcoat to try and smooth it out. For the most part, it worked. So now you know: One generous coat of Seche or two regular coats so you can get back to a smooth looking nail.

The only issue I have with this polish is that its one of those colors that is such a pain in the butt to capture accurately on camera. It ends up looking more blue no matter what I do. I played with camera settings and lighting. Its actually insanely purple. Whatever. I googled the color and see a lot of other people had the same issue while photographing this.

So my final thought on this polish: Gorgeous! I'm glad I tried it and I learned my lesson.

Feb 27, 2012

I knocked out 2 polishes from my untried drawer with just one mani. LOL! Today I have Heavenly Hydrangeas and Carnation Creation by FingerPaints. I bought these from a fellow blogger's blog sale last year. Actually, I guess I'd have to say an ex-blogger because she disappeared. =( Sorry that the bottle doesn't have a proper label. She got these for review so they came with the ugly label you see. Heavenly Hydrangeas is like a rosey (maybe magenta) purple creme. Carnation Creation is a bright teal blue creme. Both of these were a dream. Super opaque! Could have gotten away with just 1 coat but I went for 2 instead. Excellent formula and application. This color combination reminds me of a workout video from the 80s... LOL!

Feb 24, 2012

I've been making progress on using the polishes in my untried drawer. It's weird because all I've wanted to wear lately are some of my older polishes. But I've been able to fight the urge (for now). I think its because I've put myself on a polish-buying-ban until I make a serious dent in my untried drawer (an entire helmer drawer full). So its going to take me a while...

So Mari and I went to this whole-in-the-wall beauty supply store a long time ago. I swear that place is older than our ages combined! Who knew that place would be a goldmine for older China Glaze polishes that are hard to find. We got a bunch of stuff. This color isn't difficult to find at all anymore but I picked it up since I had been wanting it for what felt like eternity. This is Reggea to Riches by China Glaze. It is an insanely vibrant fuchsia purple with intense blue flash/shimmer. So pretty. And now for the downside of it: Super sheer! This is easily a 3 to 4 coater! Even then, you could still see some VNL if you looked closely. Other than that, the formula and application were fine.

I decided to stamp zebra stripes using BM-223 by Bundle Monster. I stamped with Konad Special Polish in Sky Blue. I used this plate because I liked the fact that the stripes were thinner than the zebra stripes on the Konad plates. After stamping I wished I had used the Konad stripes though. I don't know. I felt kinda "meh" about it.

Feb 22, 2012

So I went back into my untried drawer and pulled out this long overdue beauty. This is Banana Bandana by OPI. So pretty. I wanted it for sooooooo long but I never saw it in stores... And then one day, there it was! It was mine!

Banana Bandana is a summery pale yellow creme with what appears to be super subtle shimmer under certain lights. There is one downfall to this color: It's sheer. I needed 3 coats for full coverage. One nail even needed 4. It was hard to get good even coverage. Not impossible though. At least it wasn't chalky.

Then I decided to stamp with BM-225 from Bundle Monster. I asked my boyfriend to pick between this design and a cute little skull. Shockingly, he picked the skulls. But just as I was about to praise him on accepting and embracing my weirdness he changed his mind. LOL! So I stamped this vine-like design using Konad Special Polish in Black. The design is big enough to cover the entire nail but I purposely stamped it off to one side. I didn't want to lose so much of the yellow.

I feel like the stamping was an epic fail. The image came out perfect... but the black smeared when I applied topcoat. That has only happened to me back in my pre-seche vite days. Personally, seche vite is the only topcoat that doesn't do that to my stamped images... But this time it did! And I was pretty generous in my application of topcoat (as I usually am when I stamp). I apply a lot so that the actual brush doesn't end up touching the design. You don't notice the smearing unless you look at my nails up close. But I know its there so that is enough to bother the hell out of me...

Conclusion: I'll be taking this manicure off sooner rather than later. LOL!

Feb 20, 2012

I have another polish that belongs to Mari for you today! I present to you Lather, Rinse, Repeat by Misa. First, isn't that such a cute name? I love unique polish names. Makes it easier to remember them. This is a bright neon pink color. But it has a peachy orange tone to it under certain lights (especially under sunlight). I tried to capture that in photos but it's impossible. I even googled other pictures of this polish and they all look pink. So you'll just have to take my word that it has some peachy orange in there. This color is insanely bright. Like I think it could stop traffic! I walked into work and my boss was like "wow that's bright." So imagine how bright it is that a guy noticed! I applied 2 coats. Fantastic formula.

After two days I decided to tone down the brightness. It felt weird seeing my nails that bright. So I decided to go with a crackle. Seems like the craze for crackles have died down a bit. It's a shame because you really can make pretty color combinations and there are a few colors I was waiting to see be made into a crackle polish. So I went with China Glaze Crackle in Fault Line. This is a vibrant purple with fuchsia micro shimmer. This purple reminds me of royalty. I applied 1 coat on most nails. However, I had to quickly apply a 2nd coat for a few nails because I didn't have enough polish on the brush for the 1st application. Since I applied this over a 2-day old manicure it was obviously applied over dry polish (top coat). That is how you get the best cracking effect, over dry polish. Then I applied 2 coats of seche vite topcoat. One coat isn't enough if you want a smooth finish. The crackle effect is too textured.

I did notice that the formula seemed thicker than when I originally bought this collection. Has anyone else experienced this?

On another note, I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm going to St. Louis to be with my boyfriend for Valentine's Day weekend. Just sucks because I fly back home at 6am on Valentine's Day morning. It's little things like that that make a long distance relationship suck. You don't get those simple things that every other couple gets. I can't wait 'til I move. I have about 6 1/2 months to go!

Feb 16, 2012

Hey Ladies! So I picked this color because I need to return Mari's polishes to her before I move in 7 months (moving from Miami, Fl to St. Louis, MO). LOL! So I've set aside her polishes in my stash so I can make it a point to use them asap. It's going to suck not having easy access to her nail polish stash! We've always avoided buying something one of us already has because we can just share and have a larger stash (collectively) that way. Kinda backfires on you when you plan to move 1200 miles away though! So here we go with the first one: Cuckoo for this Color by OPI from the Swiss Collection (Fall 2010). It is a blue-based green with what appears to be blue-green shimmer (more blue than green under certain light). The color is pretty opaque so you only need 2 coats. I didn't have any issues with the formula or application. I like this color. It's nothing special/unique. I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm "cuckoo" for this color but its pretty. And its a green tone I like and can wear with my skin tone.

Feb 14, 2012

Hey Ladies! This will be a quick post because I'm in St. Louis spending Valentine's Day with my boyfriend. Yeah, this was a scheduled post. At this time I'm on a plane on my way back home... =(

So I wanted to do a Valentine's Day post. This is OPI's Koala Bear-y. I love this color. I've had it for a long time and realized I had never used it. Shame on me. This is a berry fuchsia type pink creme. Great application and great formula. It goes on like a dream. Very bright and pretty. Only issue is that it's difficult to capture on camera. The pictures have a tendency to make the color come out reddish. I then stamped the heart design from Bundle Monster's BM03 plate using China Glaze's Millennium.

Hope you gals like it! Have a Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you guys don't have to spend it away from your significant other!

Feb 13, 2012

Hey Ladies! So I decided to do a Valentine's Day manicure... but I wanted to do something that wasn't so lovey-dovey. (I will also be doing a lovey-dovey mani.) I had a few years where I was anti-valentine's day... So I wanted to represent those days with some polish and stamping. If anything, this can also be a punk rock type valentine's day mani. LOL! I know, random!

I started off with 2 coats of ManGlaze's most popular color ever: Matte is Murder. It dries matte very quickly and turns into a very dark grayish black color. Almost like asphalt. Then I applied a coat of Seche Vite. That makes Matte is Murder turn into a pure black color with some shimmer. The shimmer is almost holographic in the sunlight. Sadly, I wore this during 2 days of rain and had no sunlight for pictures of the shimmer. So how did I know about the shimmer if I had no sunlight? I've worn this before (here). So check out the link if you want to see picture of this color in the sun. Don't mind the old style photos. That was before we found our picture-taking-groove. LOL!

Then I stamped the heart pattern that you apparently can't see... LOL! Let me explain! I used the heart pattern from Bundle Monster's BM212 plate. Such a cute design. I thought it was appropriate for the look. I wanted it to be red so I used Konad's Special Polish in Red. I thought it would work since the bottle is super bright red and Konad polishes are meant to be opaque for stamping. Yeah how about no! I stamped and you couldn't really see it. It was there but it was so dark on the black that it made the design subtle. I've noticed that sometimes topcoat brings out the stamped color more so I applied a coat of Seche Vite. Yeah it helped... only a little. I decided to keep it on for the day and see if it looked better while I was out and about (and not confined to artificial light). But then I had rain and no sunlight all day.

So I got annoyed trying to photograph it in a way where you could see the red and decided to change it. I took the same exact pattern from BM212 and stamped over the red using Konad's Special Polish in White. NOW you can see it! Topped it with a coat of Seche Vite and I was good to go. It's unfortunate that the red didn't work out. I thought it really looked badass when you could notice it.

Either way, I hope you gals like it. I'll be doing another Valentine's Day mani and hopefully that one won't be an epic fail like this one. LOL!

Feb 10, 2012

Hey Ladies! As promised, I did a comparison between Zoya's Skylar and I Have a Herring Problem by OPI. Just like my last comparison post, I didn't understand why a little voice in my head was telling me not to get I Have a Herring Problem. Why was I debating a beautiful color? Simple! Because it reminded me of Skylar. I just didn't realize it at the time. *sigh* A bottle to bottle comparison lets you know that the two colors aren't
exact dupes... But when you are standing in a store that doesn't sell both
OPI and Zoya, you can easily think they are identical based off of your memory. So here is the comparison for those of you that might be debating the similarities:

Skylar is a medium steel blue with a softened, dusty look and speckled by visible gold and silver shimmer flecks. (Zoya's words.. Not mine!) I Have a Herring Problem is like a dusty medium blue with the same gold and silver shimmer. Both were opaque in 2 coats (no base coat and no topcoat). The formula and application was great for Skylar. I Have a Herring Problem did the same thing it did to me the first time I used it. It pulled a bit of the color from the first coat while I was applying the second coat.

So are they dupes? Nope. They are similar enough to maybe be more like half-sisters. LOL! Skylar is bluer while I Have a Herring Problem is more grayish and/or more muted. In the end, I would recommend Skylar over OPI because of the formula and application difference. I also love that Skylar is more on the blue side. I love OPI's brush but I wouldn't have bought this color if I had remembered about Skylar while I was at the store.

Hope this helps some of you in making your purchasing decision. Happy Polishing!

Feb 8, 2012

Hey Ladies! So I got 2 colors from the Holland Collection when I went to my local supply store to get the China Glaze Magnetix polishes. I really debated this color and didn't understand why. I couldn't decide between I Have A Herring Problem and I Don't Give A Rotterdamn. I finally settled for this one. When I got home I realized why... It reminds me of Zoya's Skylar. A bottle-to-bottle comparison shows they aren't dupes but they are possible half-sisters. LOL! Maybe I'll do a comparison soon.

I Have A Herring Problem is like a dusty medium blue with gold and silver shimmer. It's a grayish blue. Very pretty. The shimmer looks more silver than gold sometimes but then looks more gold than silver other times. LOL! The formula was ok. I noticed that the push was pulling a little bit of the color from the 1st coat while I was applying the 2nd. So I caught myself applying the 2nd coat with a little more polish on the brush than I normally would have just to avoid that pulling. Most nails have 2 coats. A few have 3 coats since I had to fix them. But still a pretty color to have!

Feb 6, 2012

Hey Ladies! So I figured out why I really liked Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI by (obviously) OPI... Because it's pretty much identical to Zoya's Tru. I've been head-over-heels in love with Tru ever since it came out. *sigh* I knew I shouldn't have bought Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI when I was debating which colors to get from the Holland Collection. At that moment I just couldn't figure out why a voice in my head was saying: "Don't get it!" But I was hypnotized by the beautiful color. And of course it was because I technically was already in love with the color. LOL!

Tru is a saturated, red-toned grape purple with speckled shimmer that reflects gold, orange and red. OPI is described as a plum purple and has the same gold, orange, and red shimmer. Both were opaque with just 2 coats and both had a perfect formula. There was a moment when I thought one was darker than the other but I think it was the light. In the bottle, Tru seems to have more shimmer but on the nail they have the same amount. In my opinion, I think we have an official dupe! I really don't see how to justifying purchasing both (unless you're a dork like me and don't remember already owning the color). I think in the end it will come down to which brand you love more or which brand you have more access to.

My heart was always with OPI... But ever since Zoya came into my life my loyalty has changed.
<3 Zoya

Feb 3, 2012

Hey Ladies! So I was organizing my polish and came across this beauty. This is OPI's Lincoln Park at Midnight. I've had this polish for years! Easily one of the first polishes I ever owned. So it's at least 4-5 years old. This one holds a special place in my heart. LOL! So I was happy to see the formula hadn't changed over the years. It was still as perfect as the first day I'd bought it. I'd describe Lincoln Park at Midnight as a dark purple with purple shimmer. The shimmer is very subtle and visible only under direct light (natural or artificial). This is a very vampy color and can look almost black sometimes. I love it! 2 coats of perfection. I originally bought this because of it's name and my love for the band Linkin Park. So many years later and I still love the band and this color. It was meant to be. LOL!

Feb 1, 2012

Hey Ladies! You would think I wouldn't get more polish with as much as I have in the un-tried drawer of my helmer... But I went to a local nail supply store and saw Over The Top. I've been eyeing it for months but have never been convinced enough to get it. I finally caved. I like the color but it wasn't what I was expecting it to be. Essie describes this as a dramatic metallic midnight silver. It's really dark but not so dark that it ends up looking black. It's like metallic asphalt. I applied 2 coats. The first coat was pretty sheer. And some spots would have needed a 3rd coat if it wasn't for the fact that the 2nd coat I applied was very generous.

I stamped the swirl full nail pattern from the second Bundle Monster set, BM-201. I think its an adorable pattern. One of my favorites. I stamped using one of China Glaze's best polishes for stamping: Millennium. The swirls cover a lot of the base color so I decided to just stamp the ring fingers. Didn't want to cover up that much of Over The Top.